Skip navigation

FBI: Violent crimes in U.S. near 5-year peak

Murders, robberies rise nearly 2 percent, a higher increase than expected

NBC video
Crime numbers going up across country
Sept. 24: The number of violent crimes went up again last year. NBC’s Pete Williams reports on the troubling numbers.

Nightly News

Video: Crime & courts  
Daughter: ‘Shock’ over couple’s murder
July 13: As questions remain in the murders of Byrd and Melanie Billings, a wealthy Florida couple known for adopting children with developmental disabilities, TODAY’s Ann Curry talks to daughter Ashley Markham about the crime.

  On the run

The U.S. Marshals want your help finding their "15 Most Wanted" fugitives, a notorious list of suspects fleeing everything from murder and robbery to child sex charges. To date, about 200 of the fugitives profiled on the list have been found. Tips leading to an arrest are rewarded up to $25,000. Click here to see the fugitives. 

Text alerts on msnbc.com

Breaking news alerts (about 1 per day)
Click here to sign up or text NEWS to MSNBC (67622).

Find more alerts at alerts.msnbc.com

updated 11:41 a.m. ET Sept. 24, 2007

WASHINGTON - Violent crime rose nearly 2 percent last year, the FBI reported Monday in U.S. data that show a slightly higher increase than expected.

The number of big-city murders also increased, by 1.8 percent — the same rate as homicides in the U.S. Robberies and arson also rose in large population centers, but the number of rapes and car thefts dropped, FBI data show.

The new numbers confirm that crime rates continued on a two-year upward trend after a relative lull in violence between 2002 and 2004.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad here

The rising crime rates have been a concern for the Justice Department, which earlier this year blamed the increases on gangs, guns and youth violence. The Bush administration has pledged to spend $50 million this year to combat gangs and guns, and is pushing Congress for new laws to let the federal government better investigate and prosecute violent crime.

Overall, violent crime rose by 1.9 percent in 2006 — slightly higher than the 1.3 percent increase reflected earlier this summer in preliminary FBI data.

A five-year look at crime rates show that the number of murders, robberies, rapes and other violent offenses committed in 2006 is returning to the peak reached in 2002. Crime dropped dramatically after that, the FBI data show.

In 2006, for example, an estimated 1,417,000 violent crimes were committed across the United States. That was a sharp rise from the 1,360,000 crimes reported in 2004 and approaches the estimated 1,425,000-mark reached in 2002.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sponsored LinksGet listed here
Online College Courses
Boost your career with an online Degree. Pick from Leading Colleges!
www.EarnMyDegree.com

Sponsored links

Resource guide